Professional Ethics of a Concubine

As for using Aunt Ye's family, it is also a win-win situation.

Over the past month, Aunt Ye has demonstrated her intelligence and loyalty to her.

She let Aunt Ye's family be the purchasing agent for the Marquis's Mansion to give Aunt Ye face. She believed that with Aunt Ye's intelligence, even if she was not given any preferential treatment, she would not be greedy for the money in the mansion on this matter.

If she could be given some benefits, the money saved would be used by the Marquis instead of being given to the first wife!

-

A few days later, Ye Qingzhi took the tranquilizer prescribed by Doctor Hu and slept much more soundly at night without having nightmares anymore.

From that day on, Xie Jin left the capital to work in other places.

Ye Qingzhi wanted to applaud this, as she could finally have a peaceful vacation.

You don’t have to worry about being called up by your boss in the middle of the night to work overtime, or to work yourself to death.

Of course, on the surface, Ye Qingzhi pretended to miss Xie Jin, sighed, and wiped away non-existent tears.

In order to make it look more realistic, she wrote a lewd letter expressing her love for Xie Jin and asked the secret guard who was monitoring her to send it to Xie Jin.

When the secret guard was called out, his expression was out of control. He no longer had a poker face, but was almost terrified.

Why was he discovered? He was sure that Aunt Ye had no martial arts skills and would not have noticed him.

If he makes such a mistake, would I want to kill him?

"Don't panic, I don't know where you are hiding. I was just trying to trick you. I didn't expect you to really find it." Ye Qingzhi looked at the secret guard who had a look of despair on his face, and comforted him half-heartedly.

Secret Guard,...

Aunt Ye, please stop talking. The more you talk about him, the colder he gets. It feels like his career as a secret guard is over.

"This letter is for me, please don't read it." Ye Qingzhi handed him the letter, fearing that he would find it offensive.

"I dare not." The secret guard said hurriedly, and after respectfully taking it, he asked, "Auntie, do you have any other instructions?"

"Can I still order you around? Am I worthy of that?" Ye Qingzhi was shocked.

Secret Guard,...

You don't have to belittle yourself like that, you deserve it.

The other concubines in the mansion are indeed not worthy.

Because before the Marquis left, he had instructed him to put Ye Qingzhi's safety first and to follow her orders when necessary.

Xie Jin was also afraid that if he left, he would come back and find that Ye Qingzhi had killed him.

By then, you won’t be able to find such a lovely concubine to warm your bed.

The dark guard has developed such a habit due to his professional ethics. He never says anything but loves to complain in his heart.

"You can, madam can, but no one else can," said the secret guard.

Ye Qingzhi suddenly felt that her status was quite high, and she was a little bit like a favored concubine.

This made her feel less resentful towards Xie Jin. Although her leader was a scoundrel, he was still someone she could still get along with.

"Oh, I don't have anything to tell you. You can just stay invisible." Ye Qingzhi waved her hand.

Secret Guard,...

What the hell is invisibility?

Why does it sound so weird?

-

After dealing with the Marquis, the leader, and finishing the day's greetings, Ye Qingzhi was asked by the lady to stay and talk again.

Then she got a shopping list from Mrs.

Ye Qingzhi knew at a glance that these were the supplies needed for a banquet.

Although she didn't know how she knew it, it was just like how she handled this matter normally before.

Think about it, the eldest son of the mansion will also take part in the autumn examination this year, and after he passes the exam, he will definitely have to hold a banquet to entertain the guests.

But how could it be the Marquis's family that was going to host the banquet at that time? By then, all the supplies for the banquet would definitely be sold out.

Any experienced housewife would know that in addition to the fruits and vegetables needed on the day of the banquet, all other utensils for such a large banquet must be prepared a month in advance.

“I want to replace the purchasers in the mansion, but they are the old men that the old lady used to use. If I want to replace them, I must have a legitimate reason to prove that the prices they quoted are always too high and they have embezzled the money of the mansion.

I want your family to buy the supplies for this banquet. I need you to give me a reasonable price without losing money and making a profit, and the quality of the items cannot be bad."

Zhang Jingyi finished her words calmly, stared at Ye Qingzhi and asked,

"Can it be done?"

"Madam, would it be convenient for you to let me take a look at the previous purchasing accounts of the mansion? I will have an idea in my mind and see if this matter can be handled for you." Ye Qingzhi asked with a smile.

"Here are some account books for the banquet. Take a look."

Zhang Jingyi was prepared and immediately took out a few booklets and handed them to her.

At the same time, she had a higher opinion of Aunt Ye.

If Madam Ye agreed without thinking, she would think that Madam Ye was eager to take credit and was not doing things properly.

Now seeing that she wants to see the previous purchasing account books of the mansion, it is enough to show that she is cautious and capable.

Ye Qingzhi took the account book, flipped through two pages, and a sense of familiarity came over her.

This was clearly her first time looking at ancient account books.

Needless to say, this was definitely another blessing left to her by the original owner.

Ye Qingzhi quickly flipped through the two account books and keenly discovered the problem.

"Madam, are all the account books in this mansion like this?" Ye Qingzhi rubbed her forehead, tried to hold back, but still couldn't help asking.

Really, to be honest, she needs to make the female leader realize that besides serving the Marquis, she has other work value and abilities.

However, she didn't want to stand out too much, or she would seem pretentious.

However, she couldn't bear to watch her female leader being fooled and deceived by the people below her!

If he performs well this time, becoming a core figure that the female leader relies on may be another way to pass the harem struggle.

Anyway, conquering the mistress is one of her goals.

Now that the Marquis is gone, spend more time on your Madam.

"What's the problem?" Zhang Jingyi asked her.

The main thing is that Ye Qingzhi’s sympathetic look towards the fool is too obvious!!!

Zhang Jingyi couldn't ignore it even if she wanted to.

"Alas, madam, these books are made up to deceive you. They are really unbearable."

Ye Qingzhi first pointed out to her the confusion in the accounts.

"Madam, the people below do the accounting in this way, deliberately mixing up various items, just to make it confusing, and then take the opportunity to miss some problematic accounts."

Zhang Jingyi nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"Because there are no physical objects to count, can the account book and the physical objects match? However, judging from the situation, there is a 99% chance that they don't match."

Zhang Jingyi's face turned pale and she asked, "Anything else?"

"Too many, many of them have been tampered with, and they are very crude, so I won't show them to you one by one."

Ye Qingzhi also pointed out the bills and contracts pasted on the back of the account books, and found that many of them were forged.

The more Zhang Jingyi listened, the uglier her expression became, and she was so angry that she almost lost control and started cursing!

"Aunt Ye, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you. I'm really not good at reading account books." Finally, Zhang Jingyi rubbed her forehead and smiled bitterly.

"No one has stipulated that a mistress must be able to read the account books. Why should you do this kind of thing yourself? You are the wife of the marquis and the mistress of the house. You are in charge of people, not the one who reads the account books.

Madam, just find a few accountants who are trustworthy and capable, and don't make it difficult for yourself on such a small matter!"

Ye Qingzhi just keeps on talking about shifting the blame.

However, when Zhang Jingyi heard this, she breathed a sigh of relief, as if the mountain that was pressing on her had finally been removed, and she felt liberated.

She was really being too picky. When it came to the housekeeper, she didn't see things as clearly as Aunt Ye.

This was all because she was born as a concubine's daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Before she got married, she was tortured by her vicious stepmother and was never taught how to manage the household or take care of household affairs.

Back then, given the old marquis's love for the Duke, he certainly would not choose a concubine's daughter for him.

At that time, the old marquis asked the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to marry her elder sister, entrusting the old favor to him.

However, her elder sister had someone she loved and looked down upon the Marquis who was known as a playboy at the time.

So, on the day of her wedding, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion found a substitute and let this unfavored concubine's daughter marry the marquis in place of her elder sister.

This action was undoubtedly a slap in the face of the old marquis and the marquis.

At that time, she also felt that she was doomed to die.

However, the Marquis accepted her despite the circumstances and gave her the respect that a wife deserved.

Three years later, to everyone's astonishment, the old marquis passed the title to her, and she became the marquis's wife.

After that, the Marquis gained the trust of the Emperor, and within two years, he was promoted from a royal guard to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Her status also rose with the tide. Even her aunt was promoted to a concubine in the Duke's Mansion, while she was registered under the name of her stepmother and became the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion.

However, her family knew her own affairs, and the sisters in the Duke's Mansion also knew her background. Whenever they met, they would mock her for not being able to read the account books or manage the household, and said that she was just lucky enough to have picked up a treasure as a substitute bride and became the mistress of the house, with a fourth-rank imperial title.

Others envied her luck in becoming a marquis's wife, but only she knew how difficult it had been for her to walk on thin ice these years.

The less you are good at something, and the more people laugh at it, the more likely it is to become an obsession. The harder you try to do it well, the more you end up getting stuck in it and unable to get out of it.

I'm talking about her housekeeping and accounting.

Before, no one had said such things to her, no one had told her not to embarrass herself, that reading the account books was something servants should be able to do.

She doesn't have to understand or know how to do anything, as long as she knows how to use people.

It's an eye-opener and a wake-up call!

Zhang Jingyi exhaled slowly, and said with shining eyes,

"Aunt Ye, you are right, absolutely right! Thank you for waking me up."

Ye Qingzhi,...

As long as you are happy, leader, there is no need to be so polite.

His eyes were so bright as to look at her, which made her feel uneasy.

"Now that you have looked at the account books, does Aunt Ye have a plan for purchasing?" Zhang Jingyi asked her again.

Ye Qingzhi nodded, and she had a clear idea in her mind.

She didn't even have to deliberately give a preferential price, just buying at the normal market price, and a banquet could save the lady at least two thousand silver coins.

Over the years, most of the money that the purchasing merchants earned from the Marquis' Mansion must have gone into the old lady's pocket.

"Can it be done?" Zhang Jingyi asked again, with eager anticipation in her eyes.